Before the Word Was Queer: Sexuality and the English Dictionary, 1600–1930

600 1,300 

Bringing together research from queer linguistics and lexicography, this book uncovers how same-sex acts, desires, and identities have been represented in English dictionaries published in Britain from the early modern to the inter-war period. Moving across time – from the appearance of the first standalone English dictionary to the completion of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary – and shuttling across genres – from general usage, hard words, thieves’ cant, and slang to law, medicine, classical myth, women’s biography, and etymology – it asks how dictionary-writers made sense of same-sex intimacy, and how they failed or refused to make sense of it. It also queries how readers interacted with dictionaries’ constructions of sexual morality, against the broader backdrop of changing legal, religious, and scientific institutions. In answering these questions, the book responds and contributes to established traditions and new trends in linguistics, queer theory, literary criticism, and the history of sexuality.

 

 

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Description

Before the Word Was Queer: Sexuality and the English Dictionary, 1600–1930

by   Stephen Turton (Author)

Key Themes:

  1. Historical and Genre-Spanning Approach:
    • Timeframe: Covers the evolution of English dictionaries from the early modern period to the inter-war period, including the first standalone English dictionary and the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary.
    • Genres: Explores a range of dictionary genres:
      • General usage, hard words, thieves’ cant, slang
      • Law, medicine, classical myth, women’s biography, etymology
  2. Representation of Same-Sex Intimacy:
    • Investigates how dictionary-writers made sense of same-sex acts, desires, and identities.
    • Explores both the representation and the erasure of same-sex intimacy within these texts.
  3. Reader Interaction:
    • Examines how readers interacted with these dictionary entries, particularly in terms of the moral and legal implications of sexuality.
    • Considers how the broader legal, religious, and scientific contexts of the time influenced dictionary definitions and their reception.
  4. Interdisciplinary Engagement:
    • The book contributes to multiple fields, including:
      • Linguistics: By examining the evolution of language and terms related to same-sex intimacy.
      • Queer Theory: Offering insights into how sexuality is reflected and constructed in language.
      • Literary Criticism: Analyzing the cultural significance of language in defining sexual norms.
      • History of Sexuality: Understanding how sexual identities and practices were historically categorized and regulated.

Before the Word Was Queer: Sexuality and the English Dictionary, 1600–1930 Now Available at Gangaram Jinnah Medical Bookshop For home delivery and Cash on delivery to all over Pakistan.

Buy online Medical books  at Gangaram Jinnah Medical Books Shop for home delivery and Cash on delivery to all over Pakistan. All kind of medical books are available.

Additional information

Quality

Black & white, Colour Matt Finish

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